Chapter Twenty-Seven
Ryker
H arley heads up to check on Oakley and Bri, while Cade disappears, and I walk with Grayson back to the tech room. When we get to the door, he turns towards me.
“You know you didn’t have to walk me over here,” he chuckles nervously.
I smile at him. “I know, but I wanted to. Don’t work too hard. If you need breaks, take them. Or if you need help, let me know,” I tell him, worried he’s going to end up pushing himself to the point of burning out.
“I will. Thank you for being worried,” he says quietly, not fully meeting my eyes.
Unable to stop myself, I take a step forward so he is pushed back against the door and put a finger under his chin so he raises his eyes to meet mine. Grayson is an inch or two taller than me, so when his head tilts back up, our eyes are almost at the same level.
My gaze roams over his face. His flushed cheeks and lips that are parted just slightly as he is breathing grows uneven.
“I’m going to kiss you now,” I murmur, my own heart pounding.
Grayson gasps softly, and I make my move to press my mouth against his. His lips are firmer and different from Harley’s, but they feel right against mine.
He feels right. Especially when his hands grip my sides firmly and he makes a sound at the back of his throat when my tongue runs along his bottom lip and I pull back just enough to rest our foreheads together.
My hand that is cradling his cheek moves to the back of his neck, and I squeeze it gently as we both inhale, letting it out slowly.
“I should probably, um, get to work,” he breathes out.
Nodding, I pull away and step back so he can open the door. Before he can shut it, I stick my hand out and stop it, causing his eyes to jump to mine.
“I know you need to process, but don’t you dare go in that room and second guess anything. Kissing you is like kissing Harley. It feels like home, and I will do it again,” I promise him.
His cheeks turn impossibly red, and he gives me a single nod. “I wouldn’t mind it happening again,” he whispers. Content with that, I turn and begin walking away when I hear him say, “You and Harley are my home, too.”
Grinning like a fucking idiot, I head out the front doors and over to our garages. We have five garage doors. Four are open for bikes, and the middle one is set up like a mini shop so Axe and the guys can work from here.
Walking inside the shop, I find Axe and Sugar looking over Sugar’s bike. “Hey,” I greet them, offering a wave.
“Hey, kid. What’s up?” Sugar asks, turning to me.
“I wanted to come talk with Axe, actually. Harley, the guys, and I have been talking about wanting to go for a ride now that Harley has her bike. I know Gray and I usually borrow from you guys, but I wanted to see if you have anything I could work on so Gray and I could have our own bikes. I don’t mind putting in the work to get them fixed up if they are in need of some TLC,” I explain.
Axe glances around the garage, seeming deep in thought. “I have some at the shop on Main Street we could go take a look at. I also wouldn’t mind seeing if we can find any used cheap ones you guys like and buying them then you could fix those up. I do agree that you guys need your own.”
“That would be perfect,” I say just as another bike pulls into the lot and heads our way.
Parking in front of the open garage door a few feet from us, Atlas removes his helmet and hops off. I smile at him but don’t say a word about what Lincoln told us just in case he doesn’t want too many people to know.
“Hey, guys. Working on a bike?” he asks as he stops next to me.
“Axe is gonna do some work on mine soon,” Sugar replies with a nod.
“Yeah, and this one,”—Axe points to me—“is ready to work on some of his own so he and Grayson can have bikes, too.”
Atlas raises a brow at me. “You want to rebuild?”
Shrugging, I say, “Rebuild or just have to give a good tune-up. I love a brand-new bike, but I like working on them and plan to do that in the future, so this is good practice.”
“I like that. Well, if you’re looking, Ryan has an old beat-to-shit Harley Davidson he’s planning to get rid of because none of us have the time to work on it, and he doesn’t need it. If you or Grayson are into a more classic Harley?”
“Hell yes. Grayson more so than me. He loves older classic motorcycles, so that would probably be perfect for him.” I smile, thinking about how I could try to keep it from him and surprise him with it all fixed up since I know what he likes when it comes to motorcycles.
“Awesome. I’ll talk with Ryan and see if he can send over some images before we try to get it here so you can make sure you want it.”
Before I can respond, there is an insanely loud explosion, and I don’t even get a chance to see where it came from before a force hits my chest and I feel my feet leave the ground.
The pain in my chest expands through my body until I can’t focus on anything but the feel of my head slamming into something hard.
And then it all goes black.